Controller for fish lures



May 3 1927. 1,627,078

J. A. DlENNE E1' AL coNTnoLLER 'Fon msn Lunas Filed Sept. l5. 1924 2Sheets-Shet 1 f? Y' WS May 3,1927. f l 1.627.078

J. A. DIENNER ET AL CONTROLLER FR FISH Lunas Filed Sept. l5. 1924 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 3, 19127.A

f UNITED STATES `PATENT ori-ICE^ JoIIN A. DIENNER, or CHICAGO, ANDALEXANDER C. IvIAnnE. oF- VILLA PARK,

ILLINOIS.

Y CONTROLLER non FISH Lunas.

Appunti@ inea september 15, 1924. serai No. 737,652.

Our invention relates to artificial bait or lures such as are employedin fishing.

The effectiveness of a bait or lure for catching fish is hard toexplain, but it seems from our experience well as the experience ofothers, that a bait to be effective must simulate or at least suggestsome natu` ral or live object which the fish is accus-y tomed or likelyto strike. f

All artificial baits or lures with which we are familiarl have the samemode of advance through thewater, namely that they move .in thedirection in which the attached line is pulled. This results in general,in a substantially straight path of travel. It is' often observed that abass will trail along behind a lure for quite a long way withoutstriking. Apparently, 'the motion of the lure is not like that of a frogor minnow which would try to dart off sidcwise to avoid the pursuer. ehave conceived the idea that if the lure could be made to deviate from astraight path, for e'xamlile, todart ofi' sidewise, it would be moreeffective.

According to the preferred embodiment of our invention, we use a buoyanttype of lure and cause it to dart laterally under the coni trol ofy theoperator. It is within the scope of the present invention to cause thebait to move up and down or otherwise deviate laterally from thestraight'line of travel, whichV has heretoforeprevailed. Y In carryingout our invention, We have made the lure in two parts; first acontrolling vane, and second the main bodyl which simulates a minnow,frog or the like. The controlling vane is adapted to assume one of twopositions with respect to the body. In one position the vane lies at anacute angle to the right of the longitudinal line of the body and in theotherA position the vane lies at substantially the same .acute angle tothe left of the longitudinal line of the body..

Mechanism is provided to cause the vane Vto assume either one or theotherof these posi-. V

tions and no intermediateposition. The controllingand retrieving line isattached to the vane at a point adjacent the pivotal connectionof thevane and the body.

The result is that the vane and body start off in a path lying at anangle withv respect to the line. Since the point of attachment of theline is between the point of connection of the vane' and body and theouter end of the vane, the inclination of the vof the Y or V shapedguide.

According to the preferred'form of our invention means under theycontrol of. the operator through the k,pull upon the line makes shiftingof the vane from one posi tion to the other possible and the bait canthen be made to dart off in another direction.

Now it is not necessary that these vpositions whieh we have indicated,lie upon op` posite sidesof the longitudinal line ofthe body, one of thepositions may in fact be directly 'in line with the body, butthey mustbe angularly disposed with respect to eachv other in order to secure thedesired effect. VThe means which we em loy to secure change ofdirectionis a Y or E for the vane, so arranged,'that when pull upon the line islety up. the vane will tend to move back toward the center of the guide.,If the line has taken an angular position at oneside of thelongitudinal line, a pull upon the line immediately afterslackeningtendsA to throw the-vane over into the Vother arm Oneparticular embodiment of our invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part yof this applica'-` tion, inwhichn Figure lis a horizontal sectional viewof a bait or lure embodyingthe invention, with the customary hooks removed therefrom.

Figure 2 is avertical sectional elevation of the same bait or lure.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side view taken on the line 3 3 of FigureFigure 4 is a fragmentary plan view taken from the top showing theoperating mechanism in full lines in one position and in dotted lines inanother position. y

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a smallerand morecompact construction, taken on line 5-'-5 of Fig. 6..

Figure 6 is a side sectional elevation of Figure 5. Figure 7 is afrontelevation of the embodiment shown in Figures l to 4. Y 'Figure 8 is afragmentary sectional View on the line 8-8 of Figure 3. Figure 9 is adiagrammatic plan View showing the action of the bait in use.

Figures l() Iand 11 are, respectivelygtopY tion."

shaped guide Y In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 denotes a baitor lure body .that may be made of any'suitable material, preferablybuoyant material such as wood, and may be of any desired shape orfinish, preferably such as will most closely imitate a minnow, or smallaquatic animal.

iv/lounted on the front end ot the body 1y is a Y or V shaped guide 2adapted to hold a d lguide the rudder or vane 3 in the base and legs ofthe Y or V. The rudder or vane iscomposed of the blades and oi the tlatconnecting bar portion 4 which connects the blades and rides in theopening,y 5 in the base and legs olf the Y or V shaped -guide 2.

In the construction shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, the fiatVconnecting` bar portion 4 o'l' the rudder 3 has an opening' in itscentral portion through which passes the connecting' member 6. Thisconnecting member 6 is pivotally connected at one end to the memberwhich passes through the body 1 of the bait or lure and ordinarily hashooks attached to its'opposite end at 8.. The front end of theconnecting member 6 passes'through acoil spring' 9 and has at its end anenlarged portion or head 10 which engages one end ot the spring' 9,which isV mounted on said stem (i. AThelother end of member 4 has moved.

the coil spring 9 engages the flat connecting bar portion 4 ot' therudder 3.

The U shaped or yoke member 11 is attached to the flat connecting barportion 4 of the rudder 3 at the points 12, shown clearly in Figure 3,by a flexible connection permitting` free lateral movement. The line 14is attached to the U shaped member 11 at its forward end 13. 1t willthus be seen that any pull upon thehoolzs attached to the bait or lureis carried through the indicated parts directly to the line without` ofnecessity', placing the strain upon the legs of the lguiding` member 2.This guiding member 2 can easily be made oi sufficiently strongconstruction to carry 4any ordinary strain but the construction showngives added strength which is a desirable feature.

The coil spring 9 is of such proportions that, when little or no pull isplaced on the line 14., the spring 9 will torce the. member 4 backwardinto the base of? the guide 2 but when the line 14 is pulled forward,the spring' 9 will permit the member 4to move forward into one or theother oi the two legs ot the guide 2. When the mem-V ber 4 moves forwardinto one lee' or the other of the guide member it will place the rudder3 pointingl in the direction ot the leg' of the guide member into whichthe This direction, in either case, will beat an angle to the' longi*tudinal axis of the baitor lure and at an angle to the general line ofpull ot the retrieving line. Movement through the water or movement ofthe water will then cause the bait or lure to move toward the sideindicated by the direction of the rudder.

It will be noted that the point ot attachment of the line, for allpractical purposes is near or adjacent the flexible joint 12 which listothe rear of the front portion of the This method of attaclunentl rudderblades. is very important and is far more effective in giving,-direction to the bait or lure than isa movable tail even though underthe control of the fisherman as is disclosed by the prior art. It alsomakes a .changeotl direction possible.

1t is evident that it the line is pulling upon the front end of a baitor lure the setting otl the tail at an angle will have only a slightelteet upon the direction takenvby the bait or lure, but it theconstruction,herein disclosed is used it will act quickly and positivelyto change the Vdirection ot movement.

1t is alsoy evident that i1 the connecting; bar member oi the rudder ispulled into operative position into one leg, of the lguide member 2 andretained there against a continuous pull upon the line, the bait or lureVwill move to one side until it becomes overbalanced, when it will turnover and start movingg` in the opposite direction. This turning; overprocess may be relatively slow and and in that ease, the path takenbythe bait or lure will be circular with the plane olf the circle atapproximatelyright' angles to a` line drawn from the center of the planeto thesource of the pull. It is not desirable to producev afrotarymovement as this: will twist the line. Y

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate a bait or lure whichwill operate asdescribed in the preceding` paragraph. In this construction the flatplate 15 is attached to the bodyl at an angle as shown. The lineisattached at the point 1G. The hooks are attached at the opposite endat thcsides of the bait or lure so that the device is balanced when theplatel is pointing laterally in either direction.

Tt is not necessary that the plate l5 should I be fiat. Ttmay be convexor any other shape which will secure the desired angular conf The angleat which the tact with the water. waterstrilies the plate 15 willdetermine the kindand degree of movement oi' the bait or lure obtained.y y

In' all of the other constructions shown it desirable to have only oneposition in which the bait or lureis balanced. This is preferablysecured by having a buoyant body with a downwardly inclined trout tace.such as is well known in the art. To assist in ciccomplishing thispurpose, it is desirable to have hooks suspended at the bottom of thebait or lure as shown at 17 in Figure 7. i

In Figures 1 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 the mechanical eonstruction isexaggeratedin size as lilo compared tothe size of the bait or lure body l. This isonly for the purpose of easy illus`- tration of the principles and themechanism involved. In actual practice the lccs ofy the Y guilde member2 need be no longer than is necessmfyto hold the member 4l firmly andvvwithin the body l back of the edge `of the vane, which enables us toattach the line to the member t directly, at its n'iiddle point where isalso attached the connecting mem-- ber i9A through the opening` 2l),then through the coil spring itl and ends in au enlarged portion 2l,which is sufficiently large to bring pressure upon the spring 'which isco1n- 'pressed against the member 22. The member- 522 may be connectedby a yolre to the meinber 2.3, which passes through the body l and thusgive added strength to the bait or lure and carrya portion of the pullif desired.

Figure l) illustrates, in a diagrammatic manner, the operation of thedevice. The point 24 represents the point from which the bait or lure isbeing operated. The bait or lure has been castand landed at the point26. The line 25 was then pulled as in rceling in and the rudder assumedthe position shown at 27 which caused the baitor lure to move to theright to the position shown in the heavy lines. The pull on the line isnow released and the spring pulls the rudder Y l'iacl( so that themember 4l is in the base of the Y member 2. Another pull takes themember 4- into the opposite leg` of the Y member and the bait or lurethen takes the new direction 28. I-Iad the member 4 been pulled into theoppositeV leg of the Y membe at the first pull` the bait or lure wouldhave moved toward the position 29 as in'- dicated in the dotted lines.It is evident that, after the initial direction has been tal/: en, thedirection can be controlled at the will of the operator so long as Vthebait or lure can retain its balance- From what has been said above, itis evident that our invention will operate either in still water or inmoving water. In still water the operation is accomplished by reeling inor pulling in the line toV which the bait or lure is attached. Inrunning water the bait or lure may be operated in the same manner or itmay loe thrown into the water.

and permitted to float down stream to the desired distance wliere'thepressure vof the water upon the bait or lure will cause the sameoperation as when reeling or pulling in. Then the bait or lure has movedsuflciently far yto one side it can be caused In Figures 5 and 6 it`This connecting member i9 passes tofmove to the other side by givingslack to the line and letting the movement of the v water bring it tautagain. IVe are aware n that the preferred form of the invention is notthe only form that may be employed. One essential idea is for the vaneto lead the bait orv lure so far olf laterally that the angular pull ofthe line .is effective to change the settingof the vane; lVhile weperform the change of position'of the vanethrough slacking' oil' andagain pulling the line, we

are aware that such shift may be madeV automatically because of theincreasing angularity of the retrieving line.

IVe have indicated some ofthe preferred forms of our invention but it isuin'lerstood that the structural elements are susceptible to variousmodifications and changes withvout departing from the spirit of theclaims and we do not wish it to be understood that 0 S tl our inventionis limitedto the specific forms,

arrangements or constructions shown.

Having thus described our invention, whatV we claim asl new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is l. In an artificial bait 1n combinatiomeJbody, guideway attached thereto, arudder having a bar portion whichoperates in said. guideway, means operating to hold said bar portion ofthe, rudder in the rear portion of said guideway, and a line attached tosaid rudder operating to pull said bar forward in said guideway.

2. An artificial bait having at its forward end a movable rudder whichis vertical at all times with respect to the normal position of thebait.

3. In combination, a buoyant body, a Y- shaped guide, a rudderconsisting` of two blades connected by a flat connecting bar, saidconnecting bar being adapted to operate within the Y-shaped guide,spring means operating to retain the connecting bar in the base of theY-shaped guide, and means for attaching a line to said connecting bar.

` t. A movable rudder on the front end of arfishv bait, said rudderbeing adaptedto move in a generally forward direction into a fixedguiding position which is vertical with respect to the normal positionof the bait. y

5,. .A fish bait rudder having two'forwardly extending blades connectedat their rear portions. A Y

G. AV fish bait rudder having two forwardly extending blades connectedat their rear portions and having means for attaching a line to saidconnecting element.

7. In an artificial bait, a movable rudder, guideways adapted to controlthe direction vin which the said rudder points and pulling ri oo meansattached to said rudder at a point to move laterally from one side ofthe longitudinal axis of the body to the other side thereof.

9. In a bait, the-combination oilE a body, a direction controlling vaneat the front end thereof, ay pulling line connected to the vane andmeans for causing the vane to assume one of two operative positionsunder the pull of the line for changing the direction of movement inwhich the line pulls vthe body.

l0. In a fishv bait, a movable rudder located on the for 'ard portionthereof, said rudder being adapted to move forwardly to a ixed verticalposition with respect to the bait when tension is applied thereto andmeans for retract-ing,r said rudder when said tension is released.

ll. In ay ish bait a movable rudder on the front end thereof, a lineattached thereto and a V-shaped guideway adapted to hold said rudder ineither one of two positions when tension is applied to the line andadapted to permit'the rudder to be moved toward the body of the baitWhen/tension on the line is released.

l2. In a fish bait, a movable rudder on the front end thereof, saidrudder being adapted to shii't from one side of the bait to the other, aline attached to said rudder and fixed means for preventing lateralmovement of the rudder when tension is applied to said line andpermitting lateral shifting of said rudder when tension is removed fromsaid line.

n Witness whereof, We hereunto subscribe our names this 13th day ofSeptember, 1924.

JOHN A. DIENNER. ALEXANDER C. MABEE.

